by Shawna Warner

Created on: August 06, 2009

My first priority is to cultivate a positive, learner-centered classroom that focuses on active learning. Creating a positive learning environment is no mere academic exercise. To do so entails several core principles that I bring to the classroom: expertise of the subject matter, the promotion of active learning, an awareness of diversity (in terms of learning styles as well as culture), and the ability to employ a variety of appropriate teaching methods.

If Chickering and Gamson are correct, then it is important for a professor to encourage active learning. They contend, "Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing prepackaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn a part of themselves" (Chickering and Gamson, 1987).

As I consider the concept of active learning, several ideas came to mind. First, to best engage students in learning, the professor needs to be able to be aware of diverse styles of learning. The AAC Council on General Education writes, "the sort of teaching we propose requires that we encourage active learning and that we become knowledgeable about the ways in which our students hear, understand, interpret, and integrate ideas" (1988, 25). For me, the heart of diversity is truly understanding that students' unique worldviews, cultures, and traditions influence their individual learning styles; I must understand how to meet a student where he or she is at, understanding his or her style of learning. Part of this includes knowing how to encourage active learning to bring about critical thinking.

Collison et al write, "Active engagement in critical thinking is at the core of any learning community, online or offline" (2000, 127). What drives my passion for teaching is to really know that the students are processing and learning the material. For me, teaching and learning best interact when the students are engaged in the material by critically thinking. Critical thinking is a core skill my field; therefore, as a teacher I must be able to engage students with the philosophical and theoretical concepts so that they

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